by John Bambenek
One of the chief arguments against a constitutional convention is the statement that there has been no preparation for the upcoming question that will be on the ballot in November. In 1968 and in 1988, preceding the question being on the ballot there were several committees, organizations and legal groups that produced numerous reports on various aspects of the constitution and what the advantages and disadvantages are of several reforms. None of this preparation has been present for the upcoming 2008 vote, it is true to a small degree.
Largely, the preparation for a constitutional convention has been done by the same two individuals (with the valued assistance of many other individuals) who are pushing for a yes vote on the con-con question: myself and Bruno Behrend. We've been talking about this for years, identifying the flaws in the current constitution, the reforms that are sorely needed in Illinois to stem corruption and ways to truly empower the voters to make their voices heard. Admittedly, this is a less than ideal situation.
In addition to a book we've written that will be coming out in May called "Illinois Deserves Better: The Ironclad Case for an Illinois Constitutional Convention", we've written a draft constitution which we think covers the deficiencies in the current constitution, reforms those aspects of the constitution that assist corruption and truly empowers the voters.
You can view our work at http://www.myillinoisconstitution.org and comment on each section of our draft constitution individually. It is time to open up the political process to the public so that we can truly participate in the governing process and that should start with the drafting of our new constitution (or the amendment thereof). Feel free to leave comments and feedback, we want to know what you think.
